Ryan Sessegnon doesn't need to play every game but will be an important part of Fulham's Premier League side, according to Slavisa Jokanovic.

The 18-year-old featured in every game the side played last season as they were promoted from the Championship, with Sessegnon finishing as top scorer with 16 goals, but he was benched for the win over Burnley and the draw against Brighton.

He had previously started the first two games of the season for the Cottagers, but came on in the 4-2 win with ten minutes left to play, while he played the entire 90 in the 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Exeter City.

Sessegnon's rotation to the bench surprised many, especially after the wonderkid's displays last season, but Jokanovic has insisted there is no need for him to play in every match and that he will still be an important player for the side this season.

He said: “I must make my job - Ryan Sessegnon is 18 with around 100 games in professional football.

“I take a decision, he doesn’t need to play all the games, nobody needs to, but at the end, he played all the games.

“He played all four competition games last season and he is in the same process as the team, his potential is huge and 100% he will be an important player for us this season.

“I will do my job and choose what I believe is best option for starting the game against Brighton, but I must take care about finishing the game too because sometimes people are talking about starting XI, but we score against Exeter after four minutes and after this goal, we find huge work behind us.

“It’s important who starts, but in games you must win after 90 minutes and it’s important people are ready and happy to participate in this important moment of different games.”